Inside Baseball: The Pass

Inside Baseball1 Term: The Pass

Noun, Verb

English Pronunciation: pæs

British English Pronunciation: pɑːs

Also known as: Hand Off, Send Forth, Entrust, Path, Passage

Physically, The Pass is the stainless steel divider between the servers’ area and No Man’s Land2. Its aesthetics are clean, simple and open in order to facilitate easy transactions. It’s an area where copious crucial moments occur and is fueled with successful, two-way communication.

We are lucky to be situated in a part of country where organic, fresh food is ubiquitous. Sure you can find fresh ingredients at any of the local farmer’s markets, but let’s not take for granted the fact that grocery store sushi is more or less reliable. And despite the horrifying Brazilian restaurant scene infamously depicted with extreme amounts of detail in Bridesmaids, off-the-grid, whole-in-the wall places are usually pretty legitimate.

What differentiates the ultimate product served, then, is the love and attention given to each dish. Chef Victor Morales pours his heart into each piece of fish from raw to garnished. And the final make or break moment centers around The Pass.

Think of your last pilgrimage to McDonald’s wherein you pay, look over the counter and see your French fries Dying on The Pass3.

Conversely, were you to take a peak in the back of the Carbon Beach Club and see an order of (truffle) French fries sitting on The Pass, waiting to be devoured, the air would not contain the same stagnant feel. Instead the tangible hustle on both sides of The Pass ensures that food is made and delivered in a timely manner, before any metaphorical death can occur.

This is because all of the chefs work hard to successfully Run The Pass4.

1Inside Baseball – Our newest weekly series because we firmly believe that whether you’re traveling via private jet or staying at an Airbnb, you have a right to know what that thingamajig is really called. And how that delicious stuff came about. And why that one doodad does that one thing, as well as that other thing.

2No Man’s Land – The portion of the kitchen where one shall not enter unless wearing the correct, designated apron.

3Dying on The Pass – Where hot food that is ready to be run sits out for an excessive amount of time. The cause of this slow, unwarranted death is often indolence or excessive busyness.

4Running The Pass – Where in the chef monitors the order tickets to ensure acute timeliness with the speed and rhythm of the coursing.